We know how revolutionary it was for wine makers to begin using stainless steel wine drums, in addition to, or in place of oak barrels. But, what about selling wine in aluminum cans, instead of bottles? The idea inevitably makes some indignant—Wine was made to be served from a bottle!—but before anyone starts raving about the indispensability of glass, consider this: a large portion of wine-drinking consumers have demonstrated their indifference towards cork-based traditions. That’s why a major bag-inside-a-box wine brand has become the world’s best-selling brand, with 0.9% of the global market and 6.5% in North America, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More and more restaurants are even serving wine from kegs. All this open-mindedness about wine vessels has helped a major canned wine sell about $1 million worth of wine in a can since the product debuted about a year ago, and they expect sales to reach $12 million to $14 million by year end. Spirit Airlines, the low-cost carrier known for extra fees and cheeky ads is now pouring wine out of aluminum cans as well. Spirit likes the cans because they are easier to stack and store on airplanes with limited storage space. They also weigh less and airlines are obsessed with making their planes lighter to save on fuel.
Wine